I had a defendant show up to trial in JP court sporting one of these letters. I raised a hearsay objection to the letter and the Judge sustained it.

Had the judge not, I would have raised the issue that there was no showing that the "Dr." was a licensed physician and with the Dr not present to testify there would need to be some certified document from the California medical licensing authority to indicate that he was certified to practice medicine.

Secondly, since the "examination" of the defendant took place arguably in Texas (on the internet) was the "Dr." practicing medicine without a license in Texas?

Reply to: "We do tend to find fault when people are purposely breaking the law. You know, being prosecutors and all"

The law makes exemptions for people with medical reasons not to wear one. Believe me, there are a lot of people with real medical reasons not to wear a seatbelt who pay the fine every time because state governments (I should just say the NTSA) have not properly informed people of their rights. Not very many people know that they do not have to wear a seatbelt if they have a medical reason. "Click it or Ticket" campaigns should be forced to have a disclaimer that tells people what the law says, namely they are not forced to wear a seatbelt if they have a medical reason.

*I am not a lawyer, but I am a peace officer*

I'd say that's a flawed line of thought there. The law is (as of Sept. 1) that all persons in a vehicle must be restrained with a safety belt. That's it.

It is a defense to prosecution if you have a letter from a physician. As I understand it, this puts the burden on the defendant to prove that they are eligible for this defense. The defense is not in th e law to provide everyone who does not want to wear a safety belt a way out, it is there for those that legitimately need it.

The Texas Medical Board requires any doctor who makes a medical diagnosis for someone living in Texas must have a Texas Medical License, regardless of what state the physician resides. Based on the website it is my believe what the good doctor is doing constitutes the practice of medicine in Texas. If so the failure to have a Texas Medical License is a third degree felony. Call Jill Wiggins at the Texas Medical Board, she will get you to the right person.

quote:

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Originally posted by midwesterner76:
The law makes exemptions for people with medical reasons not to wear one. Believe me, there are a lot of people with real medical reasons not to wear a seatbelt who pay the fine every time because state governments (I should just say the NTSA) have not properly informed people of their rights. Not very many people know that they do not have to wear a seatbelt if they have a medical reason. "Click it or Ticket" campaigns should be forced to have a disclaimer that tells people what the law says, namely they are not forced to wear a seatbelt if they have a medical reason.

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The law makes it a defense, yes. And if people have a real medical reason not to wear it -- as in, their doctor has told them not to wear it -- then their doctor will provide them with a letter excusing it. I saw several such letters when I was working JP courts. If their "medical reason" is "it's uncomfortable" (what I usually heard), then sorry, no dice. We're not doctors. We enforce the law. It's up to your doctor to tell you your medical options.